Garment hanger



- 5. BOE EI'AL.

GARMENT HANGER Fil ed Dec. 21, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I w 22 i in We Boa Jmeplz 5 Ha Sept. 5, 1944.- s. BOE ET AL. 2,357,496

' GARMENT HANGER Fil ed Dec. 21, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .7222/62220/ Wan Boe grab; B I y air A orzze Patented Sept. 5, 1944 2,357,496 GARMENT HANGER Swen Boe and Joseph B. Hanson, Minneapolis, Minn. 1

Application December 21 1942, Serial No. 469,611 3 Claims. (01. 223-95) This invention provides an extremely simple and highly efificient garment hanger capable of use either as a skirt hanger or a hanger for mens trousers and, generally stated, consists of the novel devices, combinations of devices, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

As is well known, the government, for war purposes, has appropriated to a very great extent metals such asiron and steel, from which garment hangershave hitherto quite generally been made. This invention provides a readily adjustable, durable and efficient garment hanger that may be made entirely. from wood or from nonmetallic material such as Bakelite or other phenol condensation products,

Several forms of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, with some parts sectioned, showing a form of the device especially designed for use as a skirt hanger, the latter being indicated partly in side elevation and partly in section; V

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the skirt hanger shown in Fig. 1, some parts being broken away and the skirt being removed;

Fig. 3 is a view corresponding to Fig. 1 but showing the device in a shorter form especially designed for use as a hanger for mens trousers and showing the device applied to hold a pair of trousers;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevation showing a form of the hanger made from plastic material such as stated.

Referring first to the hanger shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the numeral I indicates a pair of normally straight flexible rods preferably made from wood, preferably hard maple or birch. The numerals II and I2 indicate rod-like wooden garment clamping legs, and the numeral I3 indicates a rod-like wooden hanger forming post, which latter has a laterally and obliquely projecting pin I4. The relatively fixed leg II, at its upper portion, has parallel holes I through which the rods IE1, at one end, are passed with quite tight engagement. The leg I2 has parallel transverse holes I6 through which the other ends of the rods I0 are passed with normally quite loose engagement so that said leg can be slid On the rods to give spaced adjustment to the legs.

The holes I5 are oblique to the axis of the leg II.

and the holes I6 are oblique to the axis of the leg I2. This'causes the legs II and I2 to downwardly diverge so'that they will have a better holding action on the skirt indicated by the char-. acter a. 'The lower end of the hook forming post I3 has parallel hole I! that are parallel to each other but oblique to the axis of said post and through which holes the intermediate or central portions of the rods ID are passed with quite close fitting engagement. The holes I! are much closer together than are the holes I5 and as are the holes I6. When the rods are thus forced through the legs II and I2 and posts I3, their central portions will be slightly bowed or drawn together, thereby increasing the frictional clamping action between the leg II and rods, between the leg I2 and the rods, and between the post I3 and the rods.

With this arrangement the leg I2 will be quite freely slidable on the rods but the leg II and post I3 will be held against free sliding movement on the rods but may be slid thereon when considerable force is applied thereto. The adjustment of the leg I2 with respect to the leg II will adjust the device for various widths of garment skirt waists. In applying this hanger to a skirt, the leg I2 will be slid until it puts the garment waist under some tension and the tension of the waist on these legs will increase the frictional clamping action between the rods and the leg I2, thereby preventing accidental contraction of the garment hanger. The divergence of the legs II and I2 and the tension that the garment is put under will hold the latter securely against dropping from the hanger. The hanger hook forming elements I3 and I4 aiTord a very eificient hanger hook.

The so-called trouser hanger illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 involves elements that correspond to the elements in the so-called skirt hanger, that is, it includes the rods Illa, legs Ila and I2a, and the hanger hook forming elements I 3a and Ida. However, in this form of the device the legs Ila and IZa, at their lower ends, are split or bifurcated at I8 so that the folds of the two legs of the garment, indicated at b, may be inserted in the said slots. Also to assist in holding the trousers against droping from the legs I Ia and lZa,I their inner surfaces are notched or serrated at 9. trouser hanger to the trousers b is similar to that of applying the skirt hanger to a skirt, except that the trousers are to be turned upside- Obviously, the manner of applying the down and hung from their normally lower ends.

In the modified form of the hanger shown in Fig. 6, the rods 20 are shown as formed or cast integral with a body member 2| having an integrally formed hanger hook 22. The relatively fixed depending garment engaging leg 23 is shown as cast integral with the body 2| and the relatively movable leg 24 is shown as provided with holes through which the free ends of the rods 20 are slid under frictional contact. In all of the forms of the device illustrated, the adjustment of the hanger to a garment will be under some tension which will frictionally hold the movable leg against accidental sliding movements on the rods. As to the structure illustrated in Fig. 6, the rods 20 might be wooden rods, the ends of which might be cast into the body member 2|. Also the rods 20 might be of plastic material inserted into and cemented or otherwise ecured to the body member 2|.

In all of the forms of the hanger illustrated,

the tension on the lower portion of the movable leg, when the garment is applied, increases the frictional biting action of the upper portion of the leg on the rods.

Several forms of the device are illustrated but it will be understood that other modifications thereof may be made within the scope and spirit of the invention herein disclosed and claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A garment hanger including a pair of spaced fiexible rods and a pair of depending garmentengaging legs applied over the end of said rods, said legs having holes through which said rods are passed, one of said legs being capable of sliding movements on said rods but having a fricand a hanger hook tional biting or clamping action on the rods when a garment is applied to the depending portions of said legs, and a hanger hook forming element located intermediate said legs and having holes through which the intermediate portions of said rods are passed, said rods outwardly of said hookforming element being connected only by said legs.

2. A garment hanger including a pair of spaced rods and a pair of depending garment-engaging legs applied to the end of said rods, said legs having holes through which said rods are passed, one of said legs being capable of sliding movements on said rods but having a frictional biting or clamping action on the rods when a garment is applied to the depending portions of said legs, forming element involving a post-like portion having holes through which the intermediate portion of said rods are passed, the holes in said hanger hook forming element being closer together than the holes in said legs, thereby holding the intermediate portions of said rods closer together than the end portions thereof and increasing the biting action between said rods and the relatively movable leg.

3. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the holes in said hanger hook-forming element are closer together than the rod-receiving holes in said legs, whereby said rods will diverge outwardly from the intermediate hook-forming element to a variable extent depending upon the spacing of said legs from the hook-forming element.

SWEN BOE. JOSEPH B. HANSON. 

